Commission draws ambitious path for the road sector

20 July 2016

The European Commission published its strategy for low emission mobility today, which has a strong focus on road transport.

The FIA in Europe welcomes the Commission’s ambition to address transport systems, energy supplies and vehicle efficiency to move toward zero emissions from transport. The continued focus on car efficiency is important in the effort to achieve low carbon mobility.

Responding to the release of the strategy Jacob Bangsgaard, FIA Region I Director General said “at the same time it is also important to develop mobility solutions which seamlessly connect different modes of transport according to customers’ specific needs.”

The FIA has signaled that it will actively work with a range of interested stakeholders to advance the concept of ‘Mobility as a Service’ (i.e. the move away from reliance on personally owned modes of transport, in favour of bundled mobility solutions, providing ‘on demand’ options for consumers, utilising public and private modes of transport, which can be aggregated through a single service supplier).

“We appreciate that the Commission mentions Mobility as a Service as a way to make better use of the current infrastructure and existing mobility services: we believe that easy access to travel information and availability will benefit the consumer and the society more than restrictions and regulations to protect individual transport modes,” Mr Bangsgaard said.

The document also calls for taxing private motorists what is called “a correct price” including externalities. Mr Bangsgaard urged caution on this point. “There is so far no method to fully account for externalities and overall assessments vary greatly, based on the assumptions used,” he said.

The FIA in Europe believes that difficulties in establishing the true cost of these externalities could lead to consumers paying significantly more than they should. In order to contribute to the debate, FIA Region I will this Autumn provide facts and figures about what motorists in the EU pay versus what is invested in infrastructure. It will highlight how existing taxes are already directly linked to the level of use.

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Notes to editors

About FIA Region IThe FIA Region I office, based in Brussels, is a consumer body representing 112 Mobility Clubs and their 37 million members from across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The FIA represents the interest of these members as motorists, public transport users, pedestrians and tourists. The FIA’s primary goal is to secure a mobility that is safe, affordable, sustainable and efficient. With these aims in mind, the FIA Region I work focuses on Road Safety, Consumer Protection, Environmental Protection, and the promotion of Sustainable Motoring. www.fiaregion1.com

FIA Region I Policy Position on the internalisation of external costs

Economic instruments such as road charging have an uncertain impact on behaviour. They shift money, but do not create additional value. Given the strain on States’ budgets, additional charges are unlikely to be spent to combat traffic externalities. FIA Region I supports the intelligent use of a set of alternative policies to counter-balance the negative effects of road transport. Read the full Policy Position here.